Unbelief
by annem57
Summary: How Scully reacts to being ditched in the middle of a nasty case.


**Unbelief**

**Summary: How Scully reacts to being ditched in the**

**middle of a nasty case.**

**Other stuff: I love the New England area, and I**

**apologise to the residents of Waterville Valley for using**

**their town in this way.**

* * *

Unbelief

It was coming into autumn in the White Mountains of

New Hampshire. There were a large number of day-

trippers who were interested in looking at the glorious

colours of the foliage as it turned from summer green to

fall brilliance. There were also smaller numbers of those

hardy souls who were hiking through the mountains

before the snows came. Many of the smaller towns in

the area were overflowing with people during the day,

only to settle back down to a more normal sleepiness in

the evenings. One of the smaller towns, however, was

having some problems.

Waterville Valley had some hikers go missing, and all

that seemed to be left of them was some oversized

footprints. The local sheriff's office was undermanned,

so they put a call into the Police Department in

Plymouth. As soon as the possibility of Bigfoot's

involvement was raised, the boys in Plymouth put a call

in to the FBI's office in Concord. Naturally, they didn't

see the part about the missing hikers. Once they saw

that Bigfoot was a suspect, the file was sent to Assistant

Director Walter Skinner. He gave it to the department

best qualified.

The X-Files.

###

Special Agent Fox Mulder was driving the rented

Taurus while his partner, Special Agent Dana Scully

read the case file out loud to him. They had gone over

the file prior to leaving Washington DC, and Mulder

had decided that it was worth looking into. So, they had

flown to Concord, and were driving the sixty or so miles

to Waterville Valley.

"So, Scully, what's your take on this?"

His partner lifted her head and turned towards Mulder

before answering, "Well, there are definitely people

missing. They could just be lost, and the local sheriff

doesn't have a lot of resources to search for them."

Mulder grunted. "What about the footprints?"

"Probably someone's idea of a joke, Mulder."

"What is it going to take for you to believe in a non-

scientific explanation, Scully? For it to bite you on the

ass?"

'Great,' she thought. 'He's still mad about the last year.'

Aloud, she said, "When I have the evidence that I need,

then I'll believe."

"You saw the ship, Scully!"

"I was unconscious! Once I came around, I saw a big

bank of storm clouds, and we were both hypothermic.

How many times do I have to apologise for that OPR

meeting?" she snapped.

Whatever Mulder had planned to say didn't come out.

Instead, he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and

asked, "Why can't you just believe me, and in what I

say? Would it kill you to do that?"

"No, it wouldn't kill me, but I'm not about to lie to you."

Scully took a deep breath and added, "I have always

believed in you, Mulder, and I do all that I can to help

you prove your theories. You know that." 'Or,' she

thought, 'at least, you should know that.'

Mulder grunted again, and lapsed into silence. Scully

turned to look out the window. 'At least the scenery is

great,' she thought. 'Much better than Arcadia or the

Antarctic.'

The silence continued until the partners reached the

town on Waterville Valley. The local sheriff, Pete

Dickson, had very kindly reserved them rooms at one of

the town's two motels, so when Mulder spotted 'The

Valley View', he pulled into the parking lot. Both the

agents were dressed more casually than usual, as they

knew it was likely that they'd need to do some hiking

themselves. So, they checked in to the motel. Scully

was glad that the rooms had been recently refurbished,

and weren't like the usual roach traps Mulder chose.

She had just finished unpacking when Mulder knocked

on the connecting door.

"Hey. What do you say we go meet with the sheriff

now? We have at least three or four hours of usable

daylight."

Scully nodded her agreement. "After we check things

out, why don't we find somewhere to eat? There seems

to be a range of options to choose from."

"Well, get those little legs moving. I know how you get

when you don't get fed," he finished with a grin.

Scully gave Mulder a small smile, and he put his hand

in its customary place on the small of her back as they

left the room.

###

Three hours later, they were sitting in one of the diners

that the main street had. It was also the one closest to

their motel, so it was convenient for them. Mulder

started the conversation.

"So, what do you think now?"

"Well, we know that there are definitely four missing

hikers, two men, two women. They all seemed to be in

the same couple of square miles when they went

missing. There appears to be a lag of four days between

each disappearance. And yes, there are a number of sets

of large footprints in that same general area."

"So. ."

"I'm not going to say it's Bigfoot until I see him for

myself, Mulder. That won't stop me working to solve

this case."

"Fair enough," he conceded.

The conversations turned to other less-combustible

topics. Scully was an ice hockey fan, so that was an

easy topic to kick around. Around 9:30 pm, Mulder

started to yawn.

"Keeping you up, am I?"

He grinned at her, and said, "It must be all this fresh air

and lush foliage. What do you say to an early night?"

Scully grinned back, and asked, "Are you coming onto

me, Mulder?"

He nearly choked on his drink, but recovered enough to

say, "You wish!"

The walk back to the motel was easy, and Scully was

beginning to feel a little more comfortable with where

Mulder seemed to be at emotionally. She knew that the

last year had been hard on him, and she almost hoped

that they did find Bigfoot, just so Mulder would be

happy. They parted outside her motel room, and all she

could hear from his side was the usual sounds of Mulder

puttering around, getting ready for bed. When she heard

the TV in his room switch on, she knew he was settling

in for the night. Ten minutes later, she was in her own

bed, and already drifting off to sleep.

During that drowsy time before she fell deeply asleep,

she thought she heard Mulder's cell ring, but she was

too far along the road to slumber to pay attention.

###

Scully's alarm woke her at 6:45 am, and she went

through her morning routine as usual. She didn't hear

any sounds from Mulder's room, so when she was

ready, she knocked on the connecting door. Nothing.

She turned the knob on her side, and opened her door

only to find that his was still firmly closed. She went to

the outer door, her stomach sinking with each step. She

opened the door, to discover that their rental car was

missing. Quickly, she went to the motel's office to get a

spare key for Mulder's room.

"I'm sorry, honey," said Mrs Dobbs, the owner. "Your

friend checked out about an hour and a half ago."

"Did he leave me a message?"

"No, honey, he didn't."

Scully sighed. "Thank you for your help," she said to

Mrs Dobbs. She turned to go back to her room when she

saw the sheriff pull in.

"Agent Scully?"

"Yes, Sheriff Dickson?"

"Agent Mulder called me earlier and said he had to

leave, but that you'd be staying on to help." At Scully's

nod, he continued, "You ready to eat? Then we can get

back up to the site."

"Certainly, Sheriff. Let me just get my things, then we

can started."

Scully was in the sheriff's cruiser heading back up the

mountain when her cell started buzzing. "Scully."

"Agent Scully, can you tell me where you and Agent

Mulder are?"

"Sir, I had hoped that you could tell me where Agent

Mulder is. He checked out of the motel earlier today,

and I thought you'd given him a different assignment."

"So you're still in New Hampshire?"

"Yes, sir. The sheriff and I are on our way back to the

scene."

"I got a voicemail from Mulder saying that he and his

partner had a lead on the case to check out. Who's he

with, Scully?"

Scully swallowed, and thought hard. "I can't answer

that, sir. His motel room was empty when I checked."

"Will you be alright on your own, Scully?"

"Yes, sir. Sheriff Dickson and I will back each other up

on this case."

Skinner grunted an okay at her, and then ended the call.

'Dammit, Mulder,' Scully thought. 'What wild alien

chase are you on now?'

###

Scully and Dickson had decided that they would walk

around one side of the area, and that Dickson's two

deputies would take the other side. As she was walking

the area, she had a strange feeling about one particular

spot. She moved off the trail a little, and had started up

a slight incline when she saw it.

"Sheriff," she called softly. "Can you see that cave?"

Dickson came up to her. "Yes, Agent Scully, I can see

it," he replied quietly.

"Call your deputies; I think we're going to need them,"

Scully said as she drew her weapon. Dickson called his

men to come to their location, and drew his weapon as

well. They approached the cave's entrance as quietly as

they could. Just outside the entrance, they heard sobbing

from the inside.

"You take the right side, and I'll take the left," Scully

said to Dickson as she pulled a flashlight out of her

pocket, and settled it under her Sig Sauer. The sheriff

did the same with his Browning, and they entered the

cave.

What they found was shocking.

The crying was coming from one of the missing hikers,

Virginia Cousins. She had been chained to an iron circle

that had been fastened to the rock wall of the cave.

About six feet further along was David Campbell,

missing six days. He was still alive, just. A few feet

further along was Karen Black, missing ten days, and

the last in the line was Jason Minogue, missing fourteen

days. Both were dead. All had been beaten, and it was

obvious that they had received neither food nor water.

Near the oldest body were two pairs of boots that had

been modified to make very large and indistinct

footprints. 'Not Bigfoot. Sorry, Mulder,' thought Scully.

Scully moved quickly between the four hikers, then

came back to Virginia. "It's okay, I'm a doctor, I'm here

to help." The woman was sinking fast into hysteria, and

Scully knew that the two survivors needed help right

now. "Sheriff. ."

"Already on it, Agent. You tend the wounded, and I'll

send my boys in to help."

The next ninety minutes was a blur of action. The

paramedics moved in to care for the live victims, while

Scully and the deputies used bolt cutters to free the four

of them. Then Scully did a quick check of the two

bodies. The bodies were put on stretchers for transport

back to the nearest morgue, back in Plymouth. The

nearest hospital was there, so the two live victims were

already en route.

The walk down the hill to the vehicles was sombre and

silent. Finally, Sheriff Dickson looked directly at Scully

and asked, "How could this happen? Who could do this?

Just take people and leave them to die?"

"There are monsters all around us, Sheriff. Hopefully,

our two live victims might be able to help us identify

the perpetrators."

Sheriff Dickson nodded once, and the silent procession

continued on down the mountain.

###

Night had fallen, and Dana Scully had completed one of

the autopsies. The other had been done by the local

medical examiner, and both had shown the same cause

of death: severe beatings, followed by death due to

dehydration. This was the kind of senseless death that

Scully hated; a young, fit person with a full life ahead of

them, only to have it cut short by someone with no

regard for life. She had tried calling Mulder a few times,

with the same result: 'the person you are calling is

unavailable'. She looked at the night sky for a few

minutes, then looked around as she heard her name

called.

It was Sheriff Dickson. The fourth victim had been able

to give him good descriptions of the two men involved,

and they were getting together a team to apprehend

them. Scully considered for a few moments. "Do you

have a team waiting at the cave?" she asked.

"Well, no. Do you think they'll go back there?"

"It's been three days. This is when they'll do it again, so

it can't hurt to have a team waiting for them at the

cave."

"Now that you say it out loud, it's a good idea." The

sheriff looked at Scully, and added, "What team would

you like to be on, Agent Scully?"

"The cave. That's where I'm betting they'll be."

After a hurried conference with Plymouth PD, the team

was split into two. Scully, Dickson, and two Plymouth

police officers were to go back to the cave, and the rest

would go to the suspects' homes. The group dispersed,

and within an hour, Scully's team was making its way

up the hill to the cave. They had just barely settled in

when they heard voices coming towards them.

The team saw the outlines of two big men dragging a

smaller man in between them. The smaller man had

obviously been beaten already, and the team prepared to

move into action. Scully led the way.

"Federal agent, drop your weapons and put your hands

in the air!" The men's first response was shock, then

they dropped their victim, and started running back

down the hill. Scully and Dickson took off after the

bigger of the two, and the Plymouth officers went after

the other. Dickson threw himself at the man's legs, and

was able to bring him down, but not for long. The big

man aimed a kick at Dickson's face, which missed its

target, but hit his arm, forcing him to let go. Scully was

on him in a heartbeat, hissing, "Federal agent, stop or I

will fire!"

The big man turned around to face his captor, and

immediately started to laugh. "A little bitty woman with

a big old gun. You won't shoot me, darlin'. I'm

unarmed." He started to move towards Scully. She

didn't waver in her stance.

"Stop right there."

"Make me."

Scully fired at the ground in front of him. He looked at

her, amazed that she would pull the trigger. "Now, lie

face down, with your hands behind your head. Do it!"

The big man complied. Scully spoke to the sheriff, who

had stumbled over to their prisoner. "You okay,

Dickson?"

"Yeah, just a bit shaken." To their prisoner, he said,

"Put your left arm behind your back."

As the man moved to comply, he rolled suddenly, and

threw something at Scully's face. She couldn't move fast

enough, and was hit in the nose. Scully saw stars, and

sat down heavily. When she could see again, she saw

Sheriff Dickson sitting on their captive, with his weapon

shoved into the man's ear. "Try that again, son, and

you'll be hearing out of a brand new hole." Their

prisoner stopped struggling. "Agent, you okay?"

"Got hit in the nose. I think it might be broken, but I'll

get it checked later," she said as she walked over to the

pair. "What's your name?"

"Ain't sayin', darlin'."

"That's fine, and I'm not your darlin'," she answered.

While handcuffing their man, the sheriff Mirandised

him, then called for the other team. As it turned out,

their prisoner had given up at the first sign of the

officers' weapons, and the Plymouth officers had called

for backup.

Two hours later, Scully was sitting on an exam table in

Plymouth Hospital, listening to the doctor go through

the care and treatment of a broken nose. "Now, Agent

Scully, your nose will be fine in a couple of weeks.

There is no damage to the orbitals, but your left cheek

has a small depressed fracture, so be careful of it. It's

not big enough to repair surgically, but you'll need to

take it easy. Is there anyone who can help you?"

"No, doctor. I've been on a case, so I'll just go home and

rest. I'm a doctor myself, so I know what to do."

The doctor shook her hand, and breezed out of the

cubicle. Scully slowly slid off the table, and started

looking for her coat. As she was shrugging her way into

it, her cell buzzed. It was Skinner.

"Scully, how are you? The sheriff said you'd been hurt

during the takedown."

"I'm okay, sir. Broken nose and a small cheekbone

fracture. Just a matter of rest, is all."

"Sheriff Dickson is full of praise for you. He said that it

was your idea to stake out the cave, and it paid off."

"Sheriff Dickson is more deserving, sir. He listened to

me when he didn't have to, and he had my back when I

needed it." She paused for a moment. "I'm just glad this

case has come to a successful conclusion."

Skinner heard the unspoken question behind Scully's

words. "Kim finally tracked Mulder down. He was with

Diana Fowley, trying to get back into Area 51. Both

Mulder and Fowley are on their way back to DC, and

will be suspended for ten days for dereliction of duty."

After a few moments, he went on. "Scully, is there

anything I can do for you?"

It took a while for Skinner's question to register. Scully

was rocked by what she had heard: Mulder had ditched

her and taken off to Nevada with Fowley. She came

back to herself when Skinner repeated the question.

"Sorry, sir. I need some medical leave, please. The

doctor suggested two weeks. Is that alright, sir?"

"Two weeks will be fine, Scully. Call Kim with the

necessary details, as well as your contact details."

"Yes, sir." She disconnected the call. Dana Scully had

quite a few things to work through. She looked around

the hospital cubicle to make sure that nothing was left

behind. Then she went to find Sheriff Dickson, and a

ride back to the motel.

###

More than two weeks had passed since Dana Scully had

laid eyes on Fox Mulder. While she had been on

medical leave out of DC, she had only answered her cell

for her mother or AD Skinner. She had come to a few

conclusions, and she knew that Mulder wouldn't like

any of them. So now, it was another autumn Monday in

Washington, and Dana Scully was preparing for a

confrontation with Mulder. Skinner had some idea

about what was likely to happen, and it was all going to

start in his office.

Mulder entered Skinner's office his usual ten minutes

late. He nodded to Skinner in apology, then sat down,

where he turned to acknowledge his partner. He gasped

in surprise at her appearance. Her eyes and nose were

still bruised, and her nose still a little swollen. "What

happened, Scully?"

"The case in New Hampshire. A suspect threw a five-

pound rock in my face."

"That had to hurt," he tried to joke. Scully wasn't biting.

"It may have been avoided if my partner had been there

to back me up." Mulder had the good sense to look

ashamed.

Skinner passed the report on the New Hampshire case to

Mulder. When he had finished reading, he looked at

Scully in amazement. "Not Big Foot, just big guys,

huh?"

"Yes, Mulder."

Skinner cleared his throat to get the agents' attention.

"Agent Scully, you will be receiving a commendation

for your exemplary work on this case." He paused while

Scully nodded her acknowledgement to him. "Now,

Agent Scully, I believe you have some issues that you

would like to bring up?"

"Yes, sir."

"Proceed."

Scully cleared her throat and sat a little straighter in her

chair. "I have been partnered with Agent Mulder for six

years now, and it has generally been a rewarding

experience. However, it has become apparent over the

past year that Agent Mulder is no longer happy with my

performance as his partner. He has abandoned me in the

field on a number of occasions. He has belittled my

scientific findings many times. He does not treat me

with even basic respect. He does not trust me or my

judgement. On a personal level, he is extremely critical

of my faith."

Mulder chose that instant to jump in. "How can you say

that, Scully? You know that you are the only one I

trust!"

Scully turned in her seat and pinned Mulder with an icy

glare. "No, Mulder, I don't know that."

"What do you mean, you don't know that? I can give

you plenty of examples of my trust in you."

Skinner broke in with, "Why don't you do just that,

Mulder?"

Mulder gripped the arms of the chair and started. "Well,

there was. . what about. .and then. ." Each time he tried

to recall an instance of him showing his trust in Scully,

there was nothing he could recall. He could, however,

recall a great many instances of Scully's trust in him.

'Oh, crap,' he thought, 'how badly have I screwed up?'

he slumped back in his chair. "Well, if you feel so bad

about it, why do you stay?"

Scully simply smiled enigmatically, and answered, "The

X-Files are fascinating, frustrating, and maddening.

They are also the most challenging thing I have ever

worked on. But I cannot stay on with a partner that does

not trust me. Which brings me to my request, sir."

Skinner motioned for her to continue.

"I would like to have a new partner assigned to me, so

that I can continue to investigate the X-Files in the most

effective manner."

Skinner leant back for a moment, then nodded. "Alright,

Agent Scully. Here is a short list of suitable candidates.

Please get back to me by the end of the day with the one

you feel is best equipped to assist you." Scully inclined

her head in thanks, took the folders, and sat back in her

chair.

Mulder was looking from Skinner to Scully and back

again. Finally, he gathered enough of his wits about him

to ask, "Are there personnel files for me to go through

so I can select a new partner for me on the X-Files?"

Skinner looked directly at Mulder, and Mulder could

have sworn that Skinner had a malevolent gleam in his

eye.

"No, Agent Mulder, there are not."

"May I ask why, sir?"

"Because you are no longer on the X-Files."

###

Fox Mulder could not believe his ears. He just sat there,

stunned. Skinner looked at Scully, and gestured towards

the door. She nodded, stood up, and left the Assistant

Director's office with the personnel files in her hands.

After the door had closed behind Scully, Skinner

focused on Mulder. "Mulder," he said, almost gently.

No response, so he repeated himself, a little louder.

"Mulder!"

The younger man started perceptibly. He shook his

head, and choked out, "Why?"

"Do you mean, why take you off the X-Files?"

"Yes, I mean why take me off the X-Files!" Mulder

snarled. The shock was wearing off and giving way to

anger.

"Are you prepared to listen to my reasons, Agent?"

Mulder started again at the A.D.'s tone. It was every

inch the Marine sergeant speaking. Mulder got control

of himself, and nodded his agreement.

"I've been doing some research over the last two weeks

into the X-Files, and the way that the cases solved

percentages vary. When you first started the X-Files,

what do you think your solve rate was?"

Mulder shook his head at the question. "I really don't

know the answer to that, sir."

"Well, I do know the answer. When it was you and

Fowley, it was twenty percent. One in five. That's the

kind of rate that would earn any pair of agents a

reprimand."

"I had no idea, sir."

Skinner continued his lecture. "After Fowley left, your

solo efforts got the solve rate up to thirty percent. That's

three in ten. The only thing that helped you keep the X-

Files open was your connections in Congress, and you

know that didn't endear you to the FBI hierarchy."

Mulder was silently going over the evidence that

Skinner was presenting him with, and he began to

experience a sinking feeling about where this was

heading. Skinner quietly observed the younger agent,

and ploughed on.

"Then, in 1992, Special Agent Doctor Dana Scully was

assigned as your partner. Once the two of you got into

your groove, your solve rate went up to just about

eighty percent. That's four out of five, Mulder. And

these were cases that were deemed unsolvable, or too

hard, or just plain too weird. Four out of five. Any other

pair of agents with that solve rate would be able to write

their own ticket."

Mulder had started looking sick by this time. "I never

really bothered with the statistics, sir."

Skinner knew he now had Mulder's full attention. "You

should have. The most amazing thing about that solve

rate is that on ninety percent of your cases, you

abandoned your partner, and still the two of you were

able to solve eighty percent of the cases. Maybe you

would have solved more if you hadn't been so obsessed

with ditching your partner."

There was nothing that Mulder could say. When faced

with the cold, hard facts, he and Scully were a great

team. If what Skinner was saying was correct, then the

main reason that their solve rate was so high wasn't that

he was right 98.9 percent of the time, it was that Scully

did the bulk of the grunt work that provided the

solutions. He looked at Skinner and asked, "What was

the solve rate when Diana and Spender ran the X-

Files?"

Skinner started laughing. "Don't you listen to Hoover

gossip, Mulder? Their solve rate was zero. The whole

time they were on the X-Files, they submitted two

reports, and that included the one that made you out to

be a raving lunatic!" He chuckled again, and reiterated,

"They solved nothing. This case in New Hampshire is

your sixth since reinstatement. So far, you're running at

five out of six, and Scully is the one who solved this

latest case."

"What are my options, sir?"

Skinner had been watching Mulder's reactions, and

knew that Mulder had been reaching conclusions that

were quite unpalatable to him. "Option one. Go back to

ISU and profiling. McCrary's in charge, and he's a good

man." Mulder shuddered visibly at that option. "Okay.

Option two: Domestic Terrorism, under Kersh." If

Mulder could have puked, he would, and Skinner

quietly chuckled to himself before continuing. "Option

three. There's a project outside the Bureau mainstream

that currently has one agent running it. That agent needs

a partner." Mulder started to look interested, so Skinner

played the line out a bit more. "You would be there to

offer appropriate psychological observations, as well as

back your partner up. You interested?"

Mulder couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you

talking about the X-Files, sir?"

"Yes, Agent Mulder, I'm talking about the X-Files."

"But you just said I was off them!"

"Tell me, Mulder, have you learnt anything at all in the

last fifteen minutes?"

Mulder opened his mouth to answer, then closed it.

Skinner had been leading him to see for himself how

important Dana Scully was to the success of the X-

Files. "Did you and Scully plan this, sir?"

"Not at all, Mulder. Scully called me last week, in the

middle of her medical leave, and we discussed her

feelings about the X-Files, as well as her feelings about

you. It was glaringly obvious that you've been treating

her like crap, and that has to stop. Scully is a fine agent,

and you've been treating her like a rookie and a burden.

So let me ask you a question, Mulder. Do you want to

work on the X-Files?"

"Of course I do. There's nearly ten years of my life in

those files!" Mulder shouted.

"And there's six years of Dana Scully's life in them!"

Skinner shouted back at him.

All of a sudden, the magnitude of Scully's involvement

in the X-Files hit him with the force of a sledgehammer

between the eyes. Six years, two abductions, numerous

kidnappings, multiple assaults: it all became obvious.

When the losses of Melissa and Emily were added in,

Mulder had to admit that Dana Scully had just as much

invested in the X-Files as he did. He also had to admit

that he had treated her appallingly, and that he had some

serious grovelling to do. "I would like to ask for option

three, sir. I'd like to be assigned to the X-Files."

Skinner nodded, and handed Mulder a folder. "Are you

willing to work with Dr Scully?" Mulder thought, then

he nodded his agreement, and Skinner continued,

"Report to the agent in charge, Dr Dana Scully. Do you

know where the basement is, Agent?' he asked with a

tiny smirk on his face.

"Yes, sir. I think I can find my way there."

As Mulder stood to leave, Skinner asked, "Has Agent

Fowley contacted you in the last two days, Mulder?"

"No. Why?"

"Just so you are aware, her new assignment is

transcribing wire taps. In Nome."

Mulder looked at Skinner carefully. If he wasn't

mistaken, that tiny smirk that Skinner had been wearing

had gotten bigger, and Mulder was starting to have

trouble keeping a straight face. Skinner added one last

thing as Mulder reached the door. "And, Mulder? Good

luck with your new assignment. I think you're going to

need it."

"Thank you, sir. I'm positive I'll need it."

###

Thirty minutes later, Special Agent Fox Mulder exited

the elevator on the basement level. He approached the

door to the office that still had his name on it. 'That'll

have to change,' he thought. He raised his hand and

knocked.

"No-one down here but the FBI's most unwanted," came

floating through the door in a husky alto. Mulder had to

contain a chuckle at that. 'Let's rewrite history,' he

thought. And he opened the door.


End file.
